Towsonites on MTV2 ... who would've thunk it?

It's true, though. Tune in to MTV2 at 10 tonight to check out a concert by Swedish rock band The Hives that will be telecast live from the Recher Theatre in the heart of Towson.

The group, promoted as "Sweden's best-kept secret," has released two albums so far -- Barely Legal in 1997 and 2000's Veni Vidi Vicious. It's been especially popular in England, where Brits have eaten up the quintet's garage rock. But it's also been getting buzz since its recent foray into America, with the video for "Hate to Say I Told You So" playing often on MTV2.

Tonight, it performs here as part of the cable network's 2$Bill concert series, which kicked off with The Strokes in Los Angeles Feb. 2. All 800 $2 tickets to the Towson show have been sold out, however, so the only way to check out the band -- and your local buddies -- is on MTV2.

"The purpose of the show is to offer a kind of an intimate performance for a newer artist," said Graham James, a spokesman for MTV2. "The Hives are a perfect MTV2 band. They're new and they really break new ground. One of the purposes of these $2 shows is to really bring MTV2 to local markets. A band like The Hives is the perfect way to put on an intimate show for a limited number of people."